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New Meadow
(Shrewsbury Town)
Address: Oteley Road,
Shrewsbury,
Shropshire,
England,
SY2 6ST
Capacity: 9,875 (All-Seater)
Your standard, modern stadium design with good views throughout and safe-standing at the back of the South Stand. If only it was a little bit closer to the train station.
Built between 2006 and 2007, the stadium has been known previously by sponsors as Greenhous Meadow, and a new sponsorship deal has seen its name change again to Montgomery Waters Meadow.
It has been the home of Shrewsbury Town Football Club since its opening in July 2007, replacing the Shrews' former home Gay Meadow, which they had been at since 1910.
Location and Getting There
New Meadow is located along Oteley Road on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, around two miles south of the Town Centre. The Meole Brace Retail Park is west of the ground, opposite the nearby railways tracks. Bayston Hill is due south of the ground, and heading due east eventually brings you to the River Severn.
There’s a very good number of parking spaces outside of New Meadow’s East Stand, though these of course cost to park at.
Finding free parking within good distance of the ground can prove a challenge given its location on the outskirts. There are several areas nearby that offer cheaper parking than the spaces next to the stadium, but you won’t be able to park in the Meole Brace Retail Park due to time restrictions that they have put in place. I would recommend heading north from the nearby Meole Brace Roundabout and checking the roads around there. Be aware of parking restrictions though.
Shrewsbury Station is nearly 2.5 miles north of New Meadow and walking from here can take you around 45-50 minutes, though the walk through parts of Shrewsbury is a nice one. The route goes south along Raven Meadows and onto Castle Court. Follow Castle Court and turn right onto the A5191, following the road round to where it becomes St. Mary's Street. Continue to follow the A road until you reach the House of Grain Bar on your right. The path to the left of this bar, St. Julian's Friar, eventually brings you over the River Severn via bridge and onto Longden Coleham. Briefly head southwest along this road before turning left onto Greyfriars Road. Follow this road south and turn right onto Belle Vue Road (A5191), passing the Masonic Arms on your left. From here, continue to follow the A road all the way down to a large roundabout. The footpath passes through the middle of this roundabout, and after crossing head up the paths alongside the Oteley Road (B4380). The route goes over the railway and passes outside the northern end of New Meadow. You can use the footpaths to reach the stadium's vicinity from here.
An alternative option from the station is get on the 27 bus service near to Raven Meadows Car Park and get off next to the BP Garage on the A5191, walking the final part of the trip around the roundabout and across the bridge over the railway.
Regardless of which route you take, there’s going to be walking involved.
Outside the Stadium
If you’re making your way over the railway along Oteley Road, you’ll get a good view of the North Stand’s exterior from up above ground.
The stand is made mostly out of white corrugated iron with a bright brickwork base and a cantilever roof coming down from the top.
The turnstiles leading into the stand can be found at either end. Turnstiles 17-19 are at the western end of the stand and Turnstiles 20-22 are at the eastern end of the stand.
Shrewsbury Town have seven 3G pitches set up beyond the North Stand which are open for hire on matchdays. They are part of the Shrewsbury Town Community Football Hub building which is right alongside them. To one side of these pitches, outside the stadium's northwest corner, is the Fan Zone. Based around a mini roundabout, it includes a refreshment hub on one side and the Fan Zone itself based the other side of a large white entrance roof.
Green gates to the right of the Fan Zone are sometimes closed to aid the segregation between home and away supporters.
A curved brick wall connects the North Stand to the East Stand. It's here that you can find the Wall of Thanks, a plaque listing the names of 'supporters who donated monies caused by the early curtailment of the 2019/20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic'.
The East Stand is the largest of the four because of the panelled building which protrudes out of the middle. This holds the Main Reception Entrance with Shrewsbury’s Club Shop and Ticket Office on one corner.
The rest of the East Stand mirrors the same exterior design as the North Stand, with the northeast corner connecting the two stands together by a curved brick wall.
Turnstiles into the stand can be found either side of the central building, and New Meadow’s Car Park stretches out beyond the East Stand itself. Turnstiles 1-3 are at the northern end of the East Stand, and Turnstiles 4-6 are at the southern end of the stand.
A curved brick wall connects the East Stand to the South Stand.
It mirrors the design of the northern and eastern sides of the ground, using white corrugated iron with a cantilever roof and a brickwork base, but there is an additional brick building protruding out of the centre. This holds the Shrewsbury Town Foundation and the Shropshire Homes Training and Media Centre.
Turnstiles are at either end and there is a full-sized grass football pitch out beyond the South Stand which local youth teams use to train on. Turnstiles 7-8 are at the eastern end of the stand and Turnstiles 9-10 are at the western end of the stand.
The West Stand has the smallest amount of space outside of it, though this area is still fairly large.
The same corrugated iron and brickwork exterior which the rest of the stadium uses is also here, and turnstiles are spread across the exterior. Turnstiles 11-12 are at the southern end of the stand, Turnstiles 13 and 14 are around the middle of the stand, and Turnstiles 15-16 are at the northern end of the West Stand.
There is a green fence running along the area out the back of the West Stand and you can get onto a gravel path from here. This path eventually leads up to Oteley Road beyond the north side of New Meadow. Heading south down this path eventually brings you to a turning that allows you to walk underneath the railway and over to the retail park on the other side.
Both the northwest and southwest corners of New Meadow have curved walls connecting the West Stand to its adjacent neighbours.
Inside the Stadium
The North Stand is made up of a single tier of blue seats with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow along the central blocks. There is an electronic scoreboard hanging up on the back wall and New Meadow’s Control Box takes up a good part of the seating area near to the northeast corner.
The cantilever roof above means that there are no supporting pillars coming down from the top and so your view of the pitch from every seat is perfectly clear.
Windshields are at either end of the stand, but they do not cover the front rows. There is just a small wall in place here to keep any wind and rain away from these seats.
The East Stand is also made up of a single tier of blue seats and is the same height as the adjacent North Stand. Shrewsbury’s executive boxes are at the very back, and the executive seating blocks are in front of this in a deeper shade of blue. The letters ST are spelt out in yellow to the left of this executive area, and the letters FC are spelt out in yellow to the right. Shrewsbury’s changing rooms, dugouts and tunnel can all be found in the East Stand.
There are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, ensuring a perfectly clear view of the pitch from any seat, and windshields at either end cover all but the very front rows.
The South Stand is the same height as both the North and East Stands.
It is single tiered and made up mostly of blue seating, with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow across the central blocks.
The unique part of this stand however is the safe standing area, coloured yellow and located at the back. Shrewsbury Town are the first club in both England and Wales to install a safe standing area into their stadium, which consists of rows of rail seating that allows fans to safely stand on a matchday.
If you buy a safe standing ticket in the South Stand, you are expected to collect a coloured wristband from the inner concourse and stewards will only allow you up to the safe standing area if you are wearing one.
I’ve been up in this area for a Shrewsbury game and its purpose is to harness all that’s good about being in a classic standing terrace, but with a much greater level of safety.
I strongly recommend giving the safe standing area a go if you are coming to New Meadow.
There are no supporting pillars coming down anywhere in the stand because of the cantilever roof, and windshields cover all but the very front rows.
The West Stand looks very similar to the East Stand opposite.
It is made up of a single tier of blue seating with the letters STFC spelt out in yellow across the central blocks. The area holding the matchday camera can be found along the back row in the middle of the stand.
Like the rest of New Meadow, there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof, and the windshields cover all seats apart from those in the very front rows.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed behind the goal in the North Stand.
Both small and large crowds can be easily kept in here as the stand is a good distance from the home seating areas whilst still providing a good quality view of the action taking place on the pitch.
Travelling fans are generally allowed to sit wherever they please in the North Stand but most congregate in the central blocks and up towards the back. They are given a perfectly clear view of the action from any seat and all but the very front rows are well protected from the sides by windshields.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The Albion Bar (11 Castle Foregate, SY1 2DJ) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near to Shrewsbury Station)
-The Belle Vue Tavern (115 Belle Vue Road, SY3 7NJ) (Home and Away Supporters)
-The Charles Darwin (Sutton Road, SY2 6HN) (Away Supporters Welcome) (Within walking distance east of New Meadow itself)
-The Grove (147 Belle Vue Road, SY3 7NN) (Home and Away Supporters)
-The Wild Pig (Mill Road, Meole Brace, SY3 9JT) (Away Supporters Welcome) (Within walking distance west of New Meadow itself)
-The Retail Park to the west of New Meadow offers a selection of food and drink outlets.
Overview
It's hard to pick faults in New Meadow.
Every stand looks and feels the same as the ones around it and there is a great view from every seat.
The safe standing area at the back of the South Stand was revolutionary when first introduced and Shrewsbury Town take great pride in being the first club in England and Wales to install it. That part is certainly worth checking out.
The only downside to the stadium would perhaps be its location, which is not the easiest to park near or get to by public transport.
Don’t let this deter you however from visiting a really good, modern football ground.
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